Some of the best November surf fishing in Rhode Island in years should have many anglers extra thankful this Thanksgiving. A cornucopia of herring along South County beaches and breachways has created some epic action lately. Striped bass, big and small, along with countless bluefish are being landed on a wide variety of artificial lures, well within casting range of shore. In addition, there are inshore codfish opportunities and a couple good weeks of tautog fishing left. In freshwater, trout streams are beckoning and nearly 900 breeder Atlantic salmon have been stocked in Connecticut waters. So whether you sneak out Thanksgiving morning or shake off the food coma and get out over the weekend, there is some great fishing to be done out there.
Rhode Island
Without exaggeration, the surf fishing in Rhode Island has been on fire for several days and, according to some, weeks – all in the name of Atlantic herring. Schools of the 6 to 12-inch silvery baitfish are running the South County beaches and can easily be located by the dive-bombing gannets and wheeling terns. A mix of striped bass and bluefish has been gorging on the herring, sometimes right on the beach and other times just out of casting range from shore. Most of the action has been going on from Matunuck to Watch Hill with the epicenter being around Charlestown.
Captain Jack of Quaker Lane Outfitters reported that there are scores of 6 to 12-pound bluefish and plenty of striped bass ranging from dinks to cows. His buddy Rob Taylor landed a 48-pound striper and several in the 20-pound range using a metal-lip swimmer on Friday night. Jack, who rarely surfcasts, even got in on the action and kept some bluefish for the smoker that were inhaling his 4-inch swim shad. OTW contributor Dave Pickering and his sons had one of their best ‘big fish’ days in years this week, landing 20 keeper bass to 40-inches long. In addition, they caught about 20 bluefish from 5 to 13-pounds – not bad for the week of Thanksgiving! Dave and co. got most of their fish on the surface with poppers, but also caught on needlefish and swimming plugs. Another OTW contributor, Steve McKenna, told me this has been the best November he’s ever had. Steve has landed over 100 fish this month, including a 44-pound bass on November 1. Steve said it’s mostly a daytime thing and that a 1-ounce bucktail with a twister tail, Dannies, and pencil poppers have done most of the damage for him.
Dave from River and Riptide Angler took a ride Wednesday morning to see if things were still happening despite the foul weather. From the warm car, he watched two soaked surfcasters bailing fish after fish in a downpour and big surf; so it’s safe to say the recent storm hasn’t sent all the fish packing. Ron at Breachway Bait and Tackle surprised me with news of keeper codfish being taken on clams from wrecks in 50-feet of water out in front of the south shore beaches. Ron couldn’t even remember the last time he’s heard of cod being caught that close to shore.
Peter at Saltwater Edge called the recent melee of gannets, herring, bass, and blues quite a site to see if nothing else. He was bringing home a blue over white Super Strike Little Neck Popper to throw Thanksgiving morning in South County before to trying for a trout in the Wood River – not a bad one-two-punch prior to dinner. He said casting Muddler Minnows and Woolly Buggers in the tails of pools should be able to entice some stocked trout or even a native. The river is running slightly high due to the recent rain, but should come down nicely over the weekend.
Connecticut
Unfortunately, Connecticut isn’t quite experiencing the herring-induced action that our neighbor to the east is; yet at least. Jack at The Fish Connection said there have been some gannets dive bombing herring near the mouth of the Thames River, but not really much going on underneath them in terms of striped bass and bluefish. With positive reports coming out of South County and even Montauk to an extent, many Connecticut surf anglers and boaters are taking day trips elsewhere to get in on the late-fall action. If you’re bent on finding stripers locally, Jack said hitting Ocean Beach in New London or Norwich Harbor with soft-plastic baits on jigheads are good bets. Pat at River’s End also suggested trying the Waterford beaches for some schoolie action.
What Long Island Sound does have a lot of right now is blackfish. Pat at River’s End told me that action remained solid overall, yet finding tog of any size has been an issue. It seems a lot of the larger fish have been plucked out of the popular rock piles already, so try focusing on the lesser known humps and clumps in anywhere from 25 to 45-feet of water. Pat recommended the Black Point area and Southwest Reef. Jack at The Fish Connection added Seaflower Reef or The Clumps inside Fisher’s Island Sound as other good starting points. To the west, Nick at Fisherman’s World suggested rock piles around Fish and Sheffield Islands, as well as off Long Neck Point. Keep it simple with half green crabs or whole Asian crabs on high/low rigs or blackfish jigs and chum crushed crabs liberally. Take advantage of any upcoming nice days if you haven’t had your tautog fill yet because the season closes on December 6th.
In freshwater, the 2011 broodstock Atlantic salmon stockings are nearly complete, except for another 75 breeders due in early December. That will bring the total number of 3 to 18-pound salmon released into Connecticut waters this fall to nearly 900. You can get your salmon fix in the Naugatuck and Shetucket Rivers, Mount Tom Pond, or Crystal Lake. For Naugatuck River anglers, focus your time on the Beacon Falls section from Prospect Street in Naugatuck to Pine Bridge Road in Beacon Falls. Many salmon should be concentrated in this area because the Campville section upstream was not stocked due to damage from severe storms earlier this year. There are a number of effective tactics and techniques out there, but attracting these big hatchery fish with flashy lures or brightly colored flies is one way to go about it. Before going, be sure to check CT DEEP’s website (www.ct.gov/deep) for a full list of salmon regulations.
Best Bets for the Weekend
By far the best bet for the pleasant weekend on tap will be hugging the beaches and breachways of South County, Rhode Island. This is one of those times of year where surfcasters have the edge on boat fishermen, who have mostly hung it up for the year or converted to the surf themselves. Pick your favorite spot or drive around looking for diving birds, but once you locate herring, hungry bass and blues won’t be far. Pack your plug bag with Polaris poppers, pencil poppers, white bucktails, Cocahoe Minnows on jigheads, metal-lip swimmers in herring patterns, needlefish plugs, swim shads, metal tins, and teasers. Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!